Biographies: Opera Laurier and Laurier Symphony Orchestra

Nov. 25, 2025

Melanie Au

Melanie Au is a violinist born in Hong Kong, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music: Performance degree at Wilfrid Laurier University under the guidance of Jerzy Kaplanek. She began playing the violin at 3 years old. At the age of 13, she relocated to Canada, where she attended Alexander Mackenzie High School. There, she was enrolled in the Arts Mackenzie Music: Strings program, allowing her to deepen her focus in music.

Throughout her musical career, Melanie has earned numerous accolades and participated in various distinguished performances and competitions. Notable achievements include placing 2nd in the 2025 Ken Murray Concerto Competition and helping her string quartet win 1st place at the Toronto Kiwanis Festival Provincials in 2022. She also had the privilege of performing with the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra earlier this year and previously alongside the Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as playing for the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong. Melanie has also travelled to Vienna, Prague, Thailand and more, to participate in various music festivals.

Melanie continues to grow as an artist, bringing her love for music and performance to audiences around the world. She is excited to perform with the Laurier Symphony Orchestra, surrounded by colleagues, friends and family.

Kate Carver

Kate is so happy to have shared this wonderful program of opera excerpts with the devoted and talented Opera Laurier students, and also with the fantastic WLUSO.

Kate is a pianist, vocal coach, music director and conductor based in Toronto. She joined Laurier in 2022 as Music Director/Conductor of Opera Laurier, and has loved this welcoming and creative environment, where exploration, innovation and collaboration are so encouraged for students and faculty alike.

Kate maintains a private studio in Toronto as a vocal coach and has been a long-serving member of staff at the University of Toronto’s Opera Division. She has recently conducted and music directed productions for Toronto Operetta Theatre, Opera in Concert, and Summer Opera Lyric Theatre. Other positions have included Music Staff with the Canadian Opera Company, the voice program at the Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, New York, and the University of Montreal; Music Director for Essential Opera, Maritime Concert Opera, and Opera by Request. Kate received her Bachelor and Masters degrees in Music from McGill University and studied in England at The Guildhall School of Music & Drama, the Britten-Pears School, and The National Opera Studio.

Dr. Leah McGray

A dynamic conductor of both wind band and orchestral ensembles, Leah McGray is currently the conductor of the Wind Orchestra at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where she also teaches classes on Music Making and Social Justice, Conducting, and Musical Skills. Previously, she was the Director of Instrumental Studies for the State University of New York at Geneseo, and Rhodes College in Memphis TN, conducting the Geneseo Symphony Orchestra, Geneseo Wind Ensemble, the Rhodes College Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and teaching classes in conducting and theory. She has been the guest conductor for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Memphis Youth Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Penfield Symphony Orchestra, and the 2023 National Youth Band of Canada. Having performed in South Korea, across the United States and Canada, she is in demand internationally as a conductor and adjudicator. Dr. McGray earned her DMA in conducting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Master of Music from University of Toronto, and Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees from Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Awarded major grants for her work at the Masters and Doctoral level competitions of the Social Science Humanities and Research Council in Canada, her research explores techniques of non-verbal leadership, and orchestral and wind ensemble repertoire by traditionally underrepresented composers.

Ethan Monterroza

Ethan Monterroza is a 20-year-old Canadian tubist currently living in Brantford, Ontario. Ethan is in his fourth year at Wilfrid Laurier University, pursuing a Bachelor's of Music in Performance, studying under Jonathan Roswell.

Ethan began playing the tuba in Grade 9 at St. Francis Xavier High School in the Ottawa area with the original goal of becoming a music teacher. In Grade 10, during COVID, he moved to the Brantford area where he studied with the previous tuba professor at Laurier, Jane Maness, who prepared him for his eventual audition at Laurier. Ethan discovered his joy and passion for performing over teaching and thus decided to pursue music performance as his long-term goal.

Ethan has had the privilege of performing with multiple groups, including the Ottawa Community Band, the Hamilton Youth Philharmonic and Concert Band, the Oakville Youth Philharmonic and Concert Band, and the Cambridge Symphony. Other than winning his high school’s music award, he has placed 3rd in the Ken Murray concerto competition and now has the privilege to perform with the Laurier Orchestra. Ethan aims to pursue a master’s degree in music performance.

Naomi Schlegel

Naomi Schlegel is an Austrian-Canadian coloratura soprano currently in her Opera Diploma, studying under Kimberly Barber. She also recently graduated with her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance, also from Laurier. Naomi has sung Susanna (Act 3 and 4) in last year’s Opera Laurier production of Le Nozze di Figaro as well as various excerpt roles including Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Noémie in Cendrillon, and looks forward to singing Despina in Così fan tutte and the First Woodsprite in Rusalka in this year’s excerpts production. This past summer, Naomi participated in the Austrian American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, Austria, where she sang the role of Madame Herz in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirekor as well as covering the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Naomi was honoured to be the first-place winner of the Ken Murray Concerto Competition this year with her performance of “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” from Offenbach’s Contes D’Hoffman and is very excited to perform it in this year’s excerpts program!